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Can a Company Keep Charging Me After I Cancel?
Sometimes, yes — but almost always because the cancellation didn't actually go through, not because the company is entitled to keep billing you. Deleting the app doesn't cancel, and letting a card expire doesn't reliably stop a recurring charge. Once you cancel at the source (Apple: Settings > your name > Subscriptions), charges stop at the end of the paid period.
Most "still being charged" cases trace back to canceling in the wrong place, or not at all. Deleting an app only removes it from your device; the subscription lives with the billing platform. Apple subscriptions are canceled in Settings > [your name] > Subscriptions (or via your App Store profile); Google Play subscriptions under Play Store > Subscriptions; other merchants inside your online account. Canceling usually leaves your access active until the end of the current paid term, and most monthly plans are not prorated, so you won't get a partial refund for the unused days.
Swapping or canceling your card rarely stops a recurring charge. Visa, Mastercard, and other networks run "account updater" services that forward your new card number to merchants you have paid before, so the charge can follow you to a reissued card. A chargeback is also not the same as canceling: it disputes one past transaction with your bank but leaves the subscription itself active, so the next cycle can bill again. You still have to cancel the subscription at its source.
If a company charges you after a valid cancellation, that can be an unfair or deceptive practice. The FTC's 2024 "click-to-cancel" rule, which would have required canceling to be as easy as signing up, was vacated by a federal appeals court in July 2025, so it is not currently in force; but the FTC's longstanding negative-option rules and many state auto-renewal laws still prohibit hard-to-cancel schemes. For an Apple charge you did not expect, request a refund at reportaproblem.apple.com. As a backstop, you can tell your bank in writing to stop a recurring or automatic payment.
Canceling an ordinary subscription does not affect your credit score, because subscriptions are not reported to the credit bureaus. The narrow exception is a contract balance you still owe: an unpaid gym or membership fee that the merchant sends to a collections agency can end up on your credit report. So cancel according to the contract's terms and clear any remaining balance to be safe.
Related questions
Does deleting the app cancel my subscription?
No. Deleting an app removes it from your device but does not cancel billing. The subscription keeps renewing until you cancel it where it lives — for Apple, Settings > [your name] > Subscriptions; for Android, the Play Store under Subscriptions; or in the merchant's own account settings.
Will canceling or replacing my card stop the charges?
Not reliably. Card networks run "account updater" services (like Visa Account Updater and Mastercard Automatic Billing Updater) that pass your new card number to merchants you have already paid, so a recurring charge can follow you onto a reissued or replacement card. Cancel the subscription at its source instead.
Is a chargeback the same as canceling?
No. A chargeback disputes one past charge with your bank, but it does not end the subscription. The agreement stays active, so the next billing cycle can charge you again. You still have to cancel the subscription itself, and doing both is often the cleanest fix.
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